A great number of different skate guards have been developed and used and the designs thereof have been adapted to several different types of skate blades. Conventional guards of one type consist of elastic rubber blocks each having a channel closed at both ends by substantially vertical walls. A skate blade is detachably held in the channel by means of said walls which press against both ends of the blade due to the elasticity of the rubber material. A developed version of this guard consists of a non-elastic material and is lacking the substantially vertical rear wall but is provided with an elastic loop which is moved to surround the skate blade behind the rear column-shaped element connecting the blade to the skate shoe whereupon the guard is moved forwards against the section of the loop force until the substantially vertical front wall on the guard can be moved upwards to hold the tip of the blade.
A similar conventional guard consists of a wood block having a channel for receiving the blade and a yoke in the front end of the block preventing the blade from being moved forwards and upwards. The rear portion of the blade is prevented from being moved upwardly in relation to the block by means of a springing clamp which is attached to the block approximately at the center of one of the long sides thereof and which is rotatable to a clamping position where it partially surrounds the upper enlarged edge of the blade between the two column-shaped elements connecting the blade to the shoe.
The above described guards and other known guards suffer from certain disadvantages. The most common disadvantage is that the elastic material of the guard and/or the clamping means (the loop, for instance) will break after having been used a number of times. Another disadvantage is that one and the same guard cannot be used for skates the blades and/or members connecting blades and shoes having different shapes. Other disadvantages are that each guard can be used for a very limited number of skate sizes only and that the guard is not firmly retained on the skate when it is subjected to heavy stresses.